The three-month rule
Under §573c BGB, the standard tenant notice period is three full calendar months. This is a legal floor — your contract can give you a shorter period by mutual agreement, but it cannot force you to give more than three months' notice as a tenant. (Landlord notice periods can be longer, depending on how long you have lived there.)
The notice period runs from the end of the month in which your notice is received by the landlord — provided it arrives by the third working day of that month.
Example: You want to leave by June 30th. Your notice must reach the landlord by March 3rd (assuming no public holidays on the 1st or 2nd). Notice received March 4th → earliest exit is July 31st — you have lost a full month.
The third working day deadline: how to count
"By the third working day of the month" is frequently misunderstood. Key points:
- Working days excludes Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays
- If the 1st of the month is a public holiday (e.g., May 1st, October 3rd), the count starts from the next working day
- The safe approach is always to send your notice so it arrives on the 1st of the month — this eliminates any risk of miscounting
Practical example for January:
- January 1 = public holiday (Neujahr) → not a working day
- January 2 = working day 1
- January 3 = working day 2
- January 4 = working day 3 → this is your hard deadline
Send via registered post early enough that delivery happens before the 3rd working day. Do not calculate backwards from the deadline itself — add buffer.
Written notice is legally required
Oral cancellation and email cancellation are legally void under §568 BGB. The notice must be in Schriftform — a physical letter signed by hand.
If multiple people are named on the lease, all tenants must sign the termination letter. Missing one signature makes the notice invalid.
The letter does not require specific legal language — a clear statement that you are terminating the tenancy as of a specific date, signed and dated, is sufficient. Keep a copy.
How to deliver and prove it
The delivery method determines whether your notice is legally effective. Ranked by reliability:
| Method | Proof | Recommended? |
|---|---|---|
| Einschreiben mit Rückschein (registered post with return receipt) | Signed receipt returned to you | Yes — gold standard |
| Einwurf-Einschreiben (registered letterbox drop) | Confirmation of delivery to letterbox | Yes — good, slightly weaker |
| Personal handover with signed acknowledgement | Landlord signs copy on the spot | Yes — effective if they cooperate |
| Regular post without tracking | None | No — legally unreliable |
| None | No — legally void for termination | |
| WhatsApp or SMS | None | No — legally void |
For most tenants, Einschreiben mit Rückschein is the standard. Send it several days before the deadline to account for postal delays. Keep the return receipt permanently alongside the tenancy file.
Calculating your last rental month
Your tenancy ends on the last day of the third full calendar month after the notice month.
| Notice received by | Notice month | Last rental month |
|---|---|---|
| March 3rd | March | June 30th |
| April 3rd | April | July 31st |
| May 3rd | May | August 31st |
You owe rent through the last day of that month, even if you hand over the keys earlier. Early key handover does not reduce your rent obligation unless the landlord explicitly agrees in writing.
Special termination rights
Standard three-month notice covers most situations, but some circumstances allow shorter or immediate termination:
Extraordinary termination (außerordentliche Kündigung): If the landlord seriously breaches the contract — for example, refusing to fix a structural defect that makes the flat uninhabitable, or entering without permission repeatedly — you may be entitled to terminate without notice. These situations require legal advice before acting.
Mutual agreement: You and the landlord can agree to any end date in writing. If you find a new tenant who wants to take over quickly, some landlords will agree to an early exit without holding you to the full notice period. This is common in practice but has no legal backing — the landlord has no obligation to accept a replacement tenant.
Fixed-term leases: If your lease has a fixed term (Zeitmietvertrag), it ends automatically on the specified date without notice being required. The §573c rules apply only to open-ended leases (unbefristete Mietverträge).
Kündigung checklist
- All tenants named on the lease have signed the letter
- The letter states clearly: intended termination date, address, and your full name
- Sending method: Einschreiben mit Rückschein or personal handover with signature
- Delivery confirmed before or by the third working day of the notice month
- Copy of the signed letter kept in your tenancy file
- Return receipt filed permanently once received
- Move-out inspection (Übergabe) date agreed in writing with landlord